European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 4, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A mfr. Alan 8. Sheardjr. In Mercury Cep Ivle Al Cape canaveral May 5, 196. ,. Usan a howl of off ref Stone Mit Fise Rockett Shepard into Tapa. Being Hoitt etl i 6 pop gun flight into space com int Ifil from Page a tech Loans 1 squeezed into the capsule s very Light quarters. I chuckled at a note Joh n had taped 1o the in summent panel no handball playing in  the Hatch was closed and was atone shut off rom the world except for my radio gear and s wide Angle Periscope that gave me a distorted View of the outside. The butterflies were Prelly Strong now to counter the nervousness. I plunged into preparations running through checklists testing the radio systems and switches. I was scheduled to lift Olf at 7 ., but the countdown was repeatedly delayed by an overheated Power inverter Clouds thai moved Over the Arsa and a High pressure Reading from the Redstone fuel tank. As i walled out he count my bladder filled and i became very uncomfortable. Because the flight was to be Only 15 minutes the capsule had no urine collection device i asked for permission to urinate in my suit. The doctors at first objected tearing the moisture would Short out medical sensors attached to my body. The control Center a anally gave permission and i was a very Happy astronaut. But As the delays continued i became irritated at one Point i barked Over the intercom All right i m cooler than you Are. Why Don t you fix your Little problem and Light this Candle finally at 9 34  The Candle was Iii. As the Redstone engine hashed to life Deke Slayton. Who was my capsule communicator in the control Center radioed liftoff. You re on your Way  it was a strange exciting sensation a smooth gentle Rise Alt the pad. There was a lot less vibration and noise than i d expected. About a minute alter illicit the ride got rough As the rocket and capsule passed from sonic to supersonic Speed then sliced through a zone of maximum dynamic pressure As Peak Speed and arc density combined the acceleration kept building pressing me into the Seal. My vision blurred for an instant but i was Able to see the instruments and radioed a constant Stream of readings to the control Center. In effect the reports said All systems Are go.". At 2 minutes 22 seconds at my top Speed o 5,036 Mph the engines shut off on schedule and 1 heard a noise As Small rockets fired to separate the capsule. From the Booster. At this Point my pulse which was so before launch and 126 a i liftoff Shol up to 136. After dropping the Booster Freedom 7 and i were weight less and i Felt the capsule begin its automate Iso degree turn to get into position for the rest of the  the Welgh less feeling was pleasant and relaxing. It was a Relief not to Leel the weight of my body pressing against Trie Couch. A Washer and dust particles drifted out of crevices in the Cabiri. Although i was travelling at More than 5,000 a tips i had no sensation of Speed because Here was nothing to judge Speed by. Through the porthole i could sea the sky a very deep Blue almost Black because of an absence of Light reflecting particles. Then looked through the Periscope the Only Way i could sea the Earth. Fascinated by what i saw i radioed what a Beautiful a Lew. I could see the coast of Florida Cape canaveral. Lake Oreece Hooee some of the Bahamas Clouds Over Cape matters really striking from More than 100 Miles up. A Littlemore than five minutes into the sight the three Retro rockets tired at five second intervals briefly pressing me Back into my Couch. I did t need the Retro rockets because i was on a ballistic course thai would get me Back to Earth but we wanted to test them because they would be used on Mercury Orbital flights to slow the capsules so they would drop out of orbit. I checked out the manual control system mane vering the capsule in Roll Pilch and Yaw. The controls were Crisp and positive. Until then the vehicle had been controlled by in automatic system time pasted quickly and t started to prepare to re enter he atmosphere. I aimed Ite Bottom of the capsule Down at about a 40-degree Angle and switched the controls Back to automatic. At 230,000 feet a Green Light came of indicating that Gravity farces were starting to build on the spacecraft i Breed myself because i knew the g forces on re entry would be much higher than the six is i d experienced on Lilloll indeed they were building to 11 limes the Normal Pun of Gravity. To assure the controllers i radioed every 10 or 15 seconds that i was of. When you gel anything above eight g a you have to breathe in gasps so my voice transmission was pretty rough. But i was still saying of and i could read everything All right. The g forces began to drop at 80,000 feet. At 30,000 feet the atmosphere had slowed Freedom 7 to about 300 Mph. Deke told me i was right on target and that i should land in the Atlantic in the Middle of the recovery area. At 21,000 feel through the Periscope i saw the Drogue Parachute come out at 10,000 feet the main Chute unturned. What a Welcome Sig  7 hit the water with a Good solid pop. But it did not seem any More severe than the Jolt a Pilot takes when his plane is catapulted Oil an aircraft Carrier. The flight had lasted just 15 minutes but in that time i had travelled 116.5 Molas into space and had landed 302 Miles Southeast of the launch pad the capsule flopped on its right Side and water covered one porthole. It righted Itsell slowly and i radioed i was of within Manutai a helicopter was overhead attaching a Shepherd s Hook to the top of the capsule. Freedom 7, this is Rescue 1," the helicopter Pilot radioed you be got two minutes to come  i decided he knew what he was doing and i opened the door and took a sitting position on the Sill. The chopper dropped a horse Collar Sling and i slipped it on. War hoisted up and Sank into a bucket Seal As soon As i a on Board. On my seven minute ride to the aircraft Carrier i Relt relieved and Happy i knew i had done a pretty Good Job. The Mercury system had worked Welt. And the nation had demonstrated us capabilities out in the open where Iha world could watch us taking our chances. As we approached the uss Champlain i could see Page 14 the stars and stripes